hmmm if you are going to change the headstock why curse it with banjo tuners? Identifying the pickup as "humbucker" does not inspire me either.The thing i thought was most interesting about the Eb1 was that it was a large hunk of mahogany...

I admire Eastwood's brave strides to bring back extinct designs but 1) I wish they did it properly and 2) I wish it wasn't Eastwood making them. Every Eastwood I've played has had a slightly crude 'import' feel to them, and has been overpriced purely because they dredged up and did the R&D on old designs. They cut corners horribly. For example the Ovation Magnum reissue they came up with had simplified EB-3 style circuitry, which wasn't what Ovation were going for with the original. Plus I guarantee that the original Ovations were better made.

They were probably unduly inspired by the Epi EB-1: That was both medium scale and hollow (though the F hole was only painted on). Those Epis actually don't sound bad, just nothing like a true EB does.

I really don't feel offended that they chambered the body and made the f-holes "real" instead of painting them. In fact I think Gibson cheaped out on the original if you look at it in reverse. What if the Gibson EB had a chambered body and real f -holes while the copy would have had them painted on? Even if Eastwood in this case choose to use terms of their changes to "few" and "subtle" they do point out there are changes made and furthermore calls it a tribute. When Gibson/Epiphone releases reissues you rarely see any mentions of them being different from the iconic original.

There are a couple nice looking aspects. The color of the stain and the purfling lines along with the gold speed knobs and banjo tuners are used to a nice effect. A bar bridge would have been a better choice for the vintage look and the location of the bridge seems a little higher up on the body than it should be. The top of the body and the corners don't match the lower half's violin corners. Could have been better executed overall but any attempt at an EB-1 tribute is at least flattering. I'm guessing the pickup sounds nothing like an overwound sidewinder and unless tastes change drastically, it's doubtful we'll ever see pickups like that manufactured on a large scale again.

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Contrary to what James Bond says, a good Gibson should be stirred, not shaken.

I admire Eastwood's brave strides to bring back extinct designs but 1) I wish they did it properly and 2) I wish it wasn't Eastwood making them. Every Eastwood I've played has had a slightly crude 'import' feel to them, and has been overpriced purely because they dredged up and did the R&D on old designs. They cut corners horribly. For example the Ovation Magnum reissue they came up with had simplified EB-3 style circuitry, which wasn't what Ovation were going for with the original. Plus I guarantee that the original Ovations were better made.

Making a 32'' semi-hollow EB-1 is simply ignorant.

I've seen some Eastwoods that were nice looking and not crude at all, e.g. their version of the Höfner Club, but it sounded nothing like the original. Regardless, they don't seem to be consistent from what I've seen. Just guessing, maybe they farm these out to different factories.

I'm pretty sure they do Dave. For that kind of money they aren't making them in a custom shop in the USA.And I'm also pretty sure that they make these "mistakes" on purpose in order to keep clear from copyrights.